The Berliner Kongo-Konferenz (English: West Africa Conference or Berlin West Africa Conference) was held in Berlin from 15 November 1884 to 26 February 1885. The conference was hosted by the German Reich Chancellor Otto von Bismarck and representatives gathered at Wilhelmstraße 77 (at what is now Wilhelmstraße 92). A total of 14 states participated in the conference: the German Reich (host), the United States, the Ottoman Empire, Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, and Sweden-Norway. The conference’s aim was to agree on freedom for trade and shipping throughout the Congo River basin, as well as on freedom of navigation along the Niger and Congo Rivers. Another aim was in particular to establish rules for the claiming of territory on the African continent by the colonial powers, so as to avoid violent conflict among those states. Contrary to popular belief, the conference did not draw any specific borders, but instead established a framework under international law for dividing up Africa amongst the colonial powers with as little violent conflict as possible. During the process, no African representatives were consulted at any point, and African interests did not play any role.

There was one special case during the conference proceedings, namely the formation of the independent Congo Free State (today’s Democratic Republic of the Congo). Although this was not recorded in the general act of the Berlin West Africa Conference, it was agreed at a side event that it would be recognised as the private property of Belgium’s King Leopold II. The general act mentions the maritime zone extending from the Congo estuary, the Congo River basin and the territory to the east of it – for which freedom of trade and shipping was declared from then on. It forbade slave trading in the Congo River basin, obligated the parties to observe the neutrality of the basin and contained two Acts of Navigation – one for the Congo and one for the Niger. Even more far-reaching, however, were Articles 34 and 35, which set out the principle of effective occupation. This principle expanded the definition of when a power could claim a tract of land, stating that structures to ensure authority had to be established throughout the respective territory. Only proof that existing rights and the freedom of trade and of transit could indeed be protected according to universally recognised rules would from then on legitimise the occupation of a colony and protect it from claims by rival powers. Following the agreements reached at the conference, merely symbolic acts such as the raising of a flag would no longer suffice for claiming a territory. As a result, efforts to establish colonies and colonial oppression extended from the African coastline deep into the heartland of the continent. Although the Berlin West Africa Conference was not the sole origin of what is known as “the Scramble for Africa”, it did catalyse a process that had begun prior to it. The agreements reached at the conference did in fact intensify the economic exploitation of the continent and the oppression of the local population. Even though most borders on the continent were demarcated only after the Berlin West Africa Conference, this was done through bilateral negotiations based on the provisions set out in the conference’s general act. This makes the conference a key moment in the history of colonialism and symbolises the brutality employed during this time. The economic, political and cultural effects are still felt across the African continent to this day.

Why is the original General Act stored in the Political Archive of the Federal Foreign Office?

The conference, which was held in Berlin, had been prepared and organised by civil servants of the Foreign Office. A division for colonial matters was soon established after the conference that grew over the years (along with Germany’s colonial empire), until the Imperial Colonial Office was established in 1907. At that time, most records were moved to this new administrative entity. This is the reason why – although it is frequently assumed otherwise – the Political Archive holds nearly no documents relating to Germany’s colonial history. The records of the Imperial Colonial Office and of the colonies’ administrative bodies are held in the Federal Archives and most of them have meanwhile been digitised. Because most of the records were written by hand in Kurrent script, they can unfortunately only be read by a small circle of scholars. That said, the Political Archive does contain not only the General Act of the Berlin West Africa Conference, but also numerous other international agreements that relate to the colonial era. Many of these are bilateral agreements that demarcate colonial borders or that deal with administrative issues related to the colonies.

And today?

Today, 140 years after the Berlin West Africa Conference, the fact that colonialism led to injustice and horrible crimes is by no means a new discovery. What is new is that this understanding of history and the intent to fully address Germany’s colonial past have been included in the coalition agreement of a German Government.

By organising and hosting the Berlin West Africa Conference, the Foreign Office became a key actor of German colonialism – and the Federal Foreign Office is facing up to this responsibility.

You can find facsimiles of the treaty and a German translation of it at the bottom of this page.